Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid to buy Chelsea has been ‘rejected out of hand’, though the 69-year-old remains interested in buying the club.
Ratcliffe – the CEO of the Ineos Group Ltd and regarded as Britain’s richest person – submitted a late offer of £4.25bn to purchase the Premier League side on Friday, though the proposal has been rejected.
Sky Sports are reporting that Ratcliffe’s late bid, which was submitted on Friday, is difficult to consider given the approach has not followed the process set out by the US bank in charge of the sale, the Raine Group.
A consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly has been named as the preferred bid by the Raine Group and are understood to have until the end of the week to finalise an agreement.
The Premier League have completed their owners’ and directors’ test on Boehly and his consortium, giving the US-based bid the green light to takeover at Stamford Bridge.
Outside of Boehly’s bid there are two further consortiums interested in succeeding Roman Abramovich as Chelsea owner. Sir Martin Broughton, the former Liverpool and British Airways chairman, leads a British-based bid, whilst Stephen Pagliuca, a part-owner of the Boston Celtics, is also interested.
Reports on Wednesday suggested there could be a delay to the takeover process over concerns Abramovich is seeking a repayment of a £1.6bn loan to the club.
